The new CD is available. The liner notes are listed below. These notes are a work in progress, we are hoping they will become an avenue for exploration if you are discovering this music for the first time. Here is a link for purchase of the CD or to download: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/spcollective Liner Notes for Seattle Percussion Collective Volume 1 Works by Baker, Cage, Speicher, Wolff, and Zahab. Notes by Dale Speicher Track 1 Interstice(2009) Dale Speicher (2:53) Performers Greg Campbell and Dale Speicher Interstice was originally composed as a soundtrack for an 8mm film by the same name made by Martin Fossum of Seattle. I use the word compose rather loosely in this case. I created a form within which Greg and I improvised with various metal instruments. The instruments included metal bowls, metal pipes, wrenches, metal plates, and other metal objects. We recorded the piece in two separate takes. The first being the long sustained notes and tones and second being the drier, more rhythmic material. With Doug Haire's help in the studio, we were able to find a satisfying version for the film. I was inspired to use metal sounds by the imagery in the film, the metal waves, the metal handrail on the walkway. When I was a child I used to love playing the handrail as I walked up staircase much to the dismay of my mother. We have been performing the piece recently in an extended live version. Here is a link to the film and a link to a second film that we contributed music to: Interstice Six Hours Track 2,3,4 Trio(1936)  John Cage Allegro(:55), March(1:45), Waltz(1:19) Performers Greg Campbell, Dale Speicher, and Denali Williams The Trio by John Cage is a very early percussion piece for Mr. Cage. It was composed when he was living in Santa Monica, CA. The Waltz movement was later utilized in the piece  Amores. Our instrument choices were made with several ideas in mind. The wood sounds are literally pieces of wood, we did not want to use wood blocks or temple blocks, we liked the less refined sound of pieces of wood. The tom toms are modern drums and the bass drum is from the 1960"s. I am not necessarily a proponent nor do I disagree with the view that only instruments that Cage may have had available to him should be used in his early pieces. If original instruments are available, wonderful. If not, I think the music works well with modern instruments. I think there is an easy solution,  instruments should be chosen that illuminate the music. Here are several informative websites about Cage and his music: List of works Brief Biography Track 5 Cymbalism(2005) Tom Baker (8:46) Performers Chris Leonard and Dale Speicher Cymbalism is a duo for three cymbals, gong, and two triangles. The duo was composed for the percussion duo Two(comprised of Leonard and myself). At the time of the commission, we were living on opposite sides of the country(NYC and Seattle). We approached Tom and asked him to come up with a piece that would be easily transportable.  I think he succeeded in the quest for transportability and made use of the instruments chosen in many fascinating ways. The piece begins with mostly dry sounds, each player is asked to mute the cymbals for themselves and for each other. As the piece develops, the sounds open up and the triangle and gong sounds are introduced.  I think the sound-scape evolves from a rhythmically frantic and active environment to one that is more agitated in a timbrel sense. The rhythms become less important and the timbrel qualities of the instruments take center stage. The introduction of bowed cymbals and gongs begin the expansion and then the growling of the grinding stick against the cymbal brings it to a close. Here's information about the piece from Mr. Baker: Cymbalism is a work for two percussionists playing three suspended cymbals, one gong and one triangle. The performers are meant to play facing each other in this piece, creating a sense of communication and cooperation. They mute cymbals for one another, take cues from one another, and create a dramatic dialogue throughout the piece. Cymbalism works on a straight-line, moving from the driest possible articulations toward the most reverberant and long-lasting sounds. The piece is dedicated to Dale Speicher and Chris Leonard. Tom Baker February, 2005 Here's more information about Tom's music: Tom Baker Track 6 Deceived by Starlight(1996) by Roger Zahab Performer Dale Speicher Roger Zahab and I have been friends for most of twenty years. When I first entered school at the University of Akron in 1989, Roger was an enthusiastic proponent for new music, something I didn't really understand at the time and Roger's enthusiasm was inescapable and contagious. I am lucky to have been able to collaborate on many projects with Roger and I hope this is one of many pieces of his music that I will record. Here's what Roger has to say about the piece: deceived by starlight for vibraphone was written between December 22 1995 and July 5, 1996 at the request of Dale Speicher. The initial idea comes from music I wrote for a production of Gertrude Stein’s Circular Play - a play in circles at the University of Akron. A phrase from that work - “I was deceived by the starlight” - had become a motto for many involved in that production, where a long string of senseless words or actions would unexpectedly become extremely moving. This little memento honors the true devotion that Dale Speicher and our colleagues brought to their work in spite of protests about what many citizens thought a meaningless yet still a perverted and subversive show, but was then discovered by many to be theater of great innocence, purity and joy. It was first performed by Dale Speicher on March 9, 1997 under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Ohio at the home of Cynthia and Landon Knight in Bath, Ohio. For more information: Roger Zahab Track 7 Three2(1991) by John Cage Performers Greg Campbell, Dale Speicher, and Denali Williams Three2 is an example of Cage's output later in his career. The piece is one of the many number pieces composed from 1987-1992. The piece is organized in sections of  time and events. Each player is instructed to play a certain amount of activities in a particular amount of time. The instructions allow for the performer to choose instruments. The structure allows for improvisation on the part of the performers, each performance should sound completely different. The premiere happened on October 25, 1991 at the Kitchen, New York City. Performed by Kory Grossman, Michael Hinton and Michael Pugliese with the choreography, danced by Merce Cunningham Dedicated to: For Michael Pugliese and the Talking Drums Choreography: Merce Cunningham: Solo from Loops Track 8,9,10,11, and 12 Fold: Redux(2004) by Tom Baker Performer Dale Speicher A few words from Mr. Baker regarding his work: There is an opinion among some composers that all new work is derivative of something that has come before. Although I am not sure that I believe this idea, it certainly applies to Fold: Redux, which is an adaptation of a previous composition of mine, entitled Fold Upon Fold. Fold Upon Fold is scored for solo percussion and four dancers and was written in collaboration with the choreographer Corrie Befort. After its premiere in 2002 at Velocity MainSpace Theater in Seattle, I began to re-write the score so that it could be presented as a solo work. Three years later, Fold: Redux emerged. Part of the compositional challenge in re-working this piece was to find a way to fill the dramatic void that was created by subtracting the visual component of the dancers. In the end, this required breaking the original piece down to its most simple musical elements, and then recombining them into a new form that is reminiscent of the original, but distinct and original in its own right. Fold: Redux is in five short movements, and is scored for vibraphone, three suspended cymbals, snare drum, tom-tom and bamboo sticks. The work is dedicated to my good friend Dale Speicher. Track 13,14,15, and 16 Pairs(1968) by Christian Wolff Performers Tom Baker(Guitar), Greg Campbell (French Horn), Jesse Canterbury(Clarinet), Brian Cobb(Bass), Greg Sinibaldi(Bass Clarinet), and Dale Speicher(Vibraphone, Orchestra Bells) Christian Wolff's music has always fascinated me. Wolff's music allows for an openness in instrumentation and interpretation. This openness allows the performers to discover qualities in their own musicianship and pushes them explore sonic possibilities not thought of previously. Our presentation brought together a group of improvisers and performers of contemporary music that I have always respected. Their experience and openness allowed the piece to blossom in ways that were unexpected to me. As we prepared the piece, Mr. Wolff's genius presented itself to me; out of the openness of the score, a form appeared. Here is a link to more information about Mr. Wolff's music Christian Wolff Home